A family
by CrazyFM
Summary: Hannibal contemplates his relationship with his team members. Or: my take on how the guys met and became the team we know from TV.


**A family**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the A-team.**_

_**I was watching the A-team and my imaginative brain reacted to the way Hannibal acts around his team. Enter daddy Hannibal. Hannibal's point of view, hopefully not too cheesy.**_

_**Now Beta read by Hucklebarry – Thank you for your help!  
Any remaining mistakes are my own.**_

**Becoming a family**

Hannibal wore a big grin as he watched his boys fool around.

They were at last on a holiday and currently relaxing at a beautiful beach. That is, Hannibal was relaxing. The Colonel watched two of his sons squabble while the third was flirting with no less than three women at the bar.

Hannibal enjoyed seeing the three people that meant the most to him so at ease.

You see, Hannibal Smith was not a normal father. Oh, he did love his boys like any good father. He joked around with them, disciplined and comforted them. In that respect, he was like any other father. What was not normal was his way into fatherhood.

Most men have some time to prepare for being a father. Most of them are warned around 9 months before the child arrives. Hannibal didn't have this kind of advance warning.

His sons came to him when he didn't expect them at all: in the middle of a war. Their respective mothers were many miles away and completely unknown to him.

It wasn't that Hannibal didn't want children. No – he had pictured his future often enough: A wonderful wife, a house at the sea and three or four little rascals running around, getting in the way and spreading mayhem. Still, he didn't expect his sons to be nearing 20 when he met them.

Face was the first to find him – a young Lieutenant, eager to please, but with a talent for finding trouble. The boy had nearly been sent back home because of all the mischief he got into. He had a reputation for cheating in card games, flirting on duty and illegal activities no one was able to prove. He would have been sent home hadn't he been so good a soldier. General Morrison passed him on to Hannibal, hoping he could instill some respect in the kid.

Hannibal had been curious to meet the Lieutenant. But as he joined Hannibal's A-team that consisted of 5 soldiers at that time, the Colonel had at first been disappointed. The kid was complaining constantly: About the ill-fitting uniform, about training, about the mud, anything really. Only after seeing Face act completely different on their first mission did he recognize the behaviour for what it was: A cry for attention.

And after watching the young Lieutenant fight on their first mission together, pushing himself hard to protect the team, Hannibal no longer saw a whiny, spoiled kid. No, now Hannibal saw a lost boy, unsure of his place in the world, craving attention.

Suddenly it all clicked into place: the cheating, the flirting, acting up. Face did all of that to get people to notice him. He didn't seem to care if the attention was positive or negative. He just wanted to be noticed.

Once the Colonel realised this, he was more than happy to give the boy what he wanted. He made sure to talk to the kid outside of work. He found an outlet for the boy's talents and included him in his planning. The young Lieutenant, in turn, looked up to his new CO and worked hard to please him. Soon there were no traces left of the whiny kid and Face had become his trusted second in command.

A few weeks later, a young Sergeant joined the team. After his success with Face, Morrison sent him another of his problem cases. Sergeant Baracus was known for violent tendencies towards those who angered him and subordination – sometimes a combination of both. Like Face, he would have been sent home a long time ago if he wasn't so good at his job: BA could fix about anything mechanical.

Before Hannibal met BA for the first time, he did his homework. He read through the Sergeant's files. Some of the officers he knew personally and disliked, others he had heard of. Some had been plain incompetent; some were known to be unnecessarily brutal or racists.

All in all, Hannibal got the impression that BA was an honourable man with a strong moral compass. The officers were the problem. This opinion got confirmed when he asked the Sergeant for his version of events.

The Colonel quickly gained BA's respect and loyalty by simply being himself. He heard his men out if they had objections and only pulled ranks when they went too far. Also, he appreciated BA's input. Hannibal was glad to have someone to tell him when he went too far – unfazed by his rank or authority.

Soon BA had gotten quite close to Hannibal and Face, even if he would never show it. And he fit right in. BA didn't need him the way Face did. The Sergeant had never known a father, but he had his momma and he was self-assured enough not to need any appreciation. But like Hannibal, he recognized Face's craving for a family and became the big brother the young Lieutenant had never thought he would have. It didn't matter that technically BA was younger – in his neighbourhood he had been forced to grow up fast. He would watch out for Face no matter what.

Despite their different ranks and personalities, these three were found together more often than not. Somewhere along the way, BA's respect for Hannibal grew into something more along the line of a father-and-son-relationship.

Murdock was the last to join their little family. One day he literally crashed into their world. They had just gotten back from a mission and were still on the airfield. Suddenly, they heard the flapping of rotors. A chopper with a damaged tail was making its way over to them. It looked like it could fall apart any minute and it was a small wonder that it was still flying almost straight.

But suddenly the chopper lurched downward. They all held their breath because it was still high up and a crash would result in the men on the chopper getting injured. Somehow, the pilot managed to stop the fast descend. On the airfield, soldiers were running for cover. It was obvious the chopper couldn't be controlled properly anymore.

Slowly, the pilot lowered his machine. He had almost made it to the ground when the chopper gave one final lurch downward and the skids hit the ground hard. It took a while for everybody to get their bearings again. Then, the pilot stopped the engine and medics ran onto the airfield. It was obvious the chopper had gotten into enemy fire and that meant injuries or worse. The back door opened and soldiers stumbled out. They looked a little green and glad to be back on the ground but were otherwise mostly unharmed. One man had taken a shot in the leg and was carried away by the medics. The peter pilot left the chopper, also unharmed. At last, the pilot left his machine. Seeing the mass of onlookers, he gave a broad grin. "Thanks for watching! If you enjoyed the show, please recommend us. Marty here will come around with a hat shortly," the pilot, a young captain, said imitating a moderator.

Marty, the peter pilot, just gave the man an annoyed look.

Suddenly the grin vanished from the pilot's face. His CO was getting out towards the airfield. The man didn't look happy.

"If you ever fly out on a rescue mission without my consent again, you will be on your way home faster than you can say chopper!" The airfield Colonel raged. "You endangered your life, your peter-pilots and everyone on this base, should you have crashed! Not even mentioning that you cost us yet another chopper… I've had quite enough of your antics. There will be consequences!"

At this point, Hannibal interrupted the tirade. He had been watching the Captain closely and had noticed he was slightly swaying back and forth. It seemed he was injured.

"If you don't mind, _Colonel_, I will take this man to the hospital. He needs medical attention!" Hannibal interrupted.

The other Colonel opened and shut his mouth a few times then gave his consent, but not without a final glare towards the wounded pilot.

Hannibal helped Murdock towards the infirmary while he sent the rest of his team to get some rest.

They had been walking in silence for a while when Murdock whispered, "Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome, kid. You did a good job at that landing! Well done, Captain," he praised.

Murdock's whole face lit up with a bright smile at the praise.

"I could use someone like you in my team if you are interested."

Murdock gave him a long, searching look. Then he smiled even brighter than before. "I would be honoured, Colonel," he replied.

Hannibal had a feeling that Murdock would complete their family, and he had been right. The Captain and Face hit off immediately and were soon spreading mischief together. They were pretty similar in nature, Hannibal had noticed. Murdock needed attention as much as Face, but only positive attention. When scolded he would shrink into himself with guilt written all over his face and a sad look in those brown eyes. When praised, however, his whole being would light up. It was needless to say which reaction Hannibal preferred.

The Colonel also discovered that, despite his outgoing and sometimes crazy act, the pilot was quite unsure of himself on the ground. He was a perfectionist and took mistakes to heart.

While sometimes annoying, Murdock was also endlessly enthusiastic about any part of the Colonel's plan and Hannibal enjoyed being around him.

The start with BA had been bumpy, but before he realised it, the Sergeant had gained an annoying little brother.

They had been through so much together and had grown closer daily. But they had only discovered the whole meaning of their relationship when it had almost been time to go home:

The thought of splitting up again had been unbearable and they had begun to dread the time after service. Murdock and Face had planned to get a flat together near BA's home and Hannibal had agreed to stay near, too. Of course, in the end, things had turned out differently.

Their whole situation was probably the hardest for Murdock. He was the one who had to live apart from his family. Murdock depended on them to come and get him so they could spend time together. Sure, they had contact at regular intervals. They visited him when they could or called. Still, Hannibal knew their pilot was missing them. At the same time, he knew it was for the best. Murdock needed stability and wasn't made for a life on the run. Also, while not as crazy as he acted, Murdock was troubled and needed help. Help he wouldn't get on the run.

Hannibal knew, that Face was struggling, too. The boy had always dreamed of getting a family of his own and living a normal life with a wife and kids. Being an orphan, he had never known that kind of life. But at least he had a family now. Had he wanted to, Face could have left them and built a new life someplace else. But he hadn't done that. Now that Face had found his family, he would never leave it.

BA seemed to take the situation the best, once again. He was as steady and dependable as always.

Even though Hannibal loved the challenge Decker provided, it hurt him that his boys were hurting. Sometimes he wished they wouldn't need to live on the run. He dreamed of a big house near the beach. It would not be directly in the city, but not too far away either. He would live there with his boys and maybe Maggie. With the stability of a home, Murdock could be with them full time. Maybe Kelly would move in, too. Someday Face would find the one and be able to stay with her. Maybe someday BA would find someone, too, and the house would soon be filled with the laughter of his grandchildren – someday.

The Colonel sighed. It seemed unrealistic that they would have that kind of life someday. He didn't even know if he was made for it. But no matter what, he knew he would always be proud of his boys. And he knew he could never bear to lose them. He loved the way Murdock's whole being lit up with a grin when he got to fly. He enjoyed how Face would rise to his challenges. And he was happy to have BA's trust.

Even if they weren't his biological sons, they were the only family he wanted.

**The end**


End file.
